Many Skokie residents won’t forget the rainstorm that barreled through the village in mid-April 2013.
Between April 17 and 18, a record storm dropped six inches of rain, flooding the Skokie Courthouse and Oakton Community College. Main Street, Crawford Avenue, Skokie Boulevard, and Howard Street were all impassable after the storm, and even the Edens Expressway through the village was shuttered for hours.
And that’s not counting all the basements and yards that were soaked during the storm.
The April rainstorm proved that Skokie is susceptible to flooding – and Skokie flood control has become a big issue for many residents. Luckily, there are plumbers like North Coast Sewer and Drainage in town who can help mitigate damage from floods, averting a potentially worse disaster than the April storm.
If your home already has a flood control system, you should consider having it inspected at least every two years. That means that local professionals will clean your ejector, check the electrical outlets and fixtures, opening backwater valves and greasing them – and, importantly, rodding out the line between the sewer and the house. This important inspection and routine maintenance can mean the difference between a flooded home and a dry one.
Does your yard develop large, swamp-like pools of water during heavy rainstorms? Local plumbing professionals can install storm catch basins under your yard that transfer or disperse groundwater around your property, eliminating those large puddles, which can overflow and make their way into your home.
Another important step to evading a flooded home is installing a sump pump system in your basement. These symptoms act as a last line of defense during a flood, pumping unwanted water and waste out through a special pipe. The pump sucks up excess water and waste – and includes a special propeller that grinds up debris and human waste – and discharges it from your property. If your home already has a sump pump system, local plumbers are available to inspect and maintain these essential flood control devices.
Local plumbing professionals are also equipped to service sump pump pit, which are the areas to which excess water is sent by a sump pump. Maintenance can include cleaning the pit and flushing out debris that might cause flooding.
After the April 17-18 203 rainstorm in Skokie, the federal government declared the area a disaster zone, allowing for recovery funds to be sent in. So, it’s important to remember to maintain your Skokie flood control systems to ensure that your home and property stay as dry as possible as storms continue to grow in size and damage capacity. Whether you’re a homeowner or business owner, having a flood control system on your property is an investment in the present that will keep you from being washed up in the future.
